"Obama. That's the only one I like," said 8-year-old third-grader Te'Azhia Hall.

It's fun to see who wins in the mock election, but the larger point of the exercise is to teach kids basic things about voting and democracy and the idea of a commander in chief, said Shari Burdt, the school librarian and organizer of the mock election.

"We want to let kids know that it's important, that voting is a responsibility," Burt said.

Students voted in the school's atrium. Tables were set up and teachers and sixth-grade volunteers helped run the mock polling place. Students first visited a table where they signed their names and a student checked a classroom list to cross out each name.

The students then got a ballot: a piece of paper with an illustration of each candidate along with their name and party. The students checked a box next to their candidate of choice, then paced the ballot into a decorated box. At the end, they each got an "I Voted" sticker to wear.

"Who you voting for, sweetheart?" Burdt asked one girl. The student pointed to the picture of Obama.